


A Scheme for Sunrise

by ThePrinceps



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Beach year, F/M, Fluff, Mutual Pining, Pre-Relationship, denim shoes ONLY, my boy is anxious but still gotta love him
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-15
Updated: 2019-07-15
Packaged: 2020-06-29 06:23:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19824352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThePrinceps/pseuds/ThePrinceps
Summary: Barry wakes up to find most of his shoes are missing, he's left only with some not lab safe jean sandals. Who took the others and why?





	A Scheme for Sunrise

**Author's Note:**

> This is the only fic I've ever written and whoops! it took two years of procrastination to write. Thanks to Arden for putting up with the first half and thanks to Grey for pressuring me to finish it today.

It’s late at night, and all that can be heard is the faint, _jip-jop, jip-jop, jip-jop_  
The sound is approaching, _jip-jop_  
Closer and closer, _jip-jip, jip-jop_  
Louder, _jip-jop_  
The sound stops. It has arrived and there is a knock at the door. Taako flops around his bed and makes the way to the door. Once opened, he finds a distraught Barry.

“I can’t find my joots or my jonverse. You know I can’t stand open-toed shoes, Taako. Why did you give me jip jops?”  
Taako yawns, “You know, Barold, joots and jonverse are not beach appropriate! Jandals are!”

“Taako, please, Taa-Taako, look at me,” Barry is starting to cry. “Open-toed shoes are not lab safe and my entire life is a lab! This entire ship is a lab! We’ve made that beach a lab! I cannot wear these jip jops anywhere!”

Hiding a laugh behind his hand, Taako replies, “My dude, can I let you in on a little secret? I’m gonna, what happens this year doesn’t matter! We’re safe, life is, quite literally, a beach. Everything is fine, embrace the jandals! And let cha boy get back to his beauty ‘sleep’.”

“B-but, Taak-“

“No buts,” he says and slams the door in Barry’s face. He stands there a long moment and laughs before launching himself back into bed.

_Did Taako take them? Perhaps,_ Barry thinks. _Pull yourself together, you’ll survive until you find your joots or your jonverse._

Barry felt naked with exposed toes. Even with his socks, wearing the jip jops was too _unsafe_ and it was making him anxious. He walked further down the hall and stood outside Lup’s door, wondering if it was okay to wake her. He blushed at the thought of her with bedhead, and the tone her voice takes when she’s tired. <>iI shouldn’t, it would be rude of me. He walks on, trying to keep the ‘jip-jop’ of his steps quiet.

He finds himself outside of Magnus’ door, already knocking. He hears some faint grunts and something fall before the door opens. 

“Hey, Barry, whatcha need? But, uh, its also, like 4am, soo?” Magnus is having trouble speaking, his brain clogged with sleep and his eyes have barley opened.

“I, uh, I-I was wondering if you had any ideas as to where my joots or jonverse are? They-they seem to have gone missing.” He’s breathing heavily, anxiety creeping into every movement.

“Your wha-ohh your shoes, but, uh, aren’t you wearing them?”

“N-n-n-no! These are not real shoes! They have open toes and everything and they’re giving me anxiety. Well, more anxiety than usual!” He’s getting flushed, “My-my joots and my jonverse, they were in my room, on the shoe rack and now they aren’t! They’ve gone and disappeared, please Magnus, I can’t work in these conditions.”

Barry tries to refocus his eyes and calm his hands, he looks up at Magnus, but he’d fallen asleep standing!

“Magnus, Maggie, Mags?” Barry reaches his arm out and pokes the side of Magnus’ face. He wakes up and sputters.

“Oh, right. Hey, Barry, whatcha need? But, uh, it’s also, like 4am, soo?”

“Um, nevermind, Magnus, I’ll let you get back to sleep”

“Okay, man, sure” He turns around and trips over a large half-carved duck and begins to snore. Barry just closes his door in defeat. 

_Where are they? Who took them, because they sure as hell didn’t grow legs and walk themselves away, right? Did they grow legs? Can shoes grow legs? How would that work? Would they fill themselves and walk as a pair of grown legs from their soles? Wow that’s a good pun, nice one Barry. Wait, FOCUS!_ He slaps his face. 

_I took off my joots last night at 11:03 and put them on the left of my jonverse on the shoe rack. My jonverse were there, I remember them. I laid down at 11:06 and they were still safe. I slept until 4am and then they weren’t._ He slides down the wall, rubbing his cheek as something beneath him in the dark crunches?

_What is that?_ Scrambling in a bit of a panic, hands slapping the cold and gritty floor. No, it shouldn’t be gritty, it was just cleaned, it was clean at 11. Who…? 

His thoughts trail off as his eyes wander down the hall, the faint light of the kitchen glinting off the tile revealing more grit and grime, the beach’s dark sand.

_Okay Barry, you can do this. In-two-three-four, out-two-three-four. Again. In-two-three-four, out-two-three-four._

He’s actually breathing now, pushing his fear and anxieties out or in, he was never really sure of which, but nevertheless, he stands back up and begins to follow the trail though the ship. 

Past the kitchen that still smells like late night baking. A pause at the stairwell, he glances down them.

_Nothing,_ patting the first few steps, his hands are still clean. _Up it is, I suppose,_ Barry begins his trek, becoming distracted once again by his thoughts, _out to the deck and then what? Where am I going? Am I being led somewhere?_

He stumbles on a particularly sandy stair, gripping the rail, “Oh come on!” exasperated and tired, but he keeps going. 

Out the door to the deck, the sky is just beginning to be touched by the barest hints of light, the distant ocean glinting like the stars fading from view. It’s breathtaking and he sighs as deep as ever. Attempting to collect himself and back to structured breathing. He still wants to cry but isn’t allowing it until he finds his joots and jonverse, until he is lab safe once again.

The sand continues, a clear and concise path to the ladder off the ship. _At this point, if anyone or anything is trying to kill me this way, it might as well happen._ Resigned to whatever the fate may be, he feigns confidence, as per usual, and looks over the railing.

“Is, uh, is anyone out here?” glancing from side to side, there is nothing and no one sans the few deeper than necessary ruts, leading from the ladder quickly out of view. “You aren’t being as subtle as you’d l-like. Please I just want my shoes back.”

No response.

_Well I guess I have no choice now._ He’s never liked heights, nor the concept of ladders, or open backed stairs too. _Too many risks,_ he always thought. _Life is much safer on solid ground._ He’s grumbling his way down, trudging along this pre-approved path. The light growing slowly stronger, his vision growing clearer. Along the ships port, towards the bow, he ducks around to the ocean’s side.

He nearly falls when he sees a silhouette sitting on a pale blanket, relaxed looking out to the water.

“He-hello?” he hesitates, anxiety bubbling once again.

The figure turns, it’s Lup. A bright smile across her face, “Took you long enough, get over here nerd!” Patting the space next to her. “You almost missed the best part.”

Barry knows he must be blushing into next week, “I, uh, did you…? What is all this?” Stumbling forward, he sits, knees pulled up.

“Did I what? I just wanted to watch the sunrise with my favorite lab partner before we gotta leave this beaut.” 

He is, just completely speechless. He sputters for a moment, “I-I-Well- Yes. It is… it’s very beautiful. The way the colors shift and tangle, the sun patterning the lolling water, the shifting of the tides. Yeah… It’s nice...” he finishes softly. 

“See, I knew you’d have the right opinion! Taako said it wouldn’t be your ‘thing’ but helped set it up anyway.” She turns from the water to look at him, her gaze gentle but full of warmth and residual mischief, “sorry about your shoes, Mags thought it was the only way to get you out here instead of right into the lab. I, uh, I hope it was worth it.” She looks away, too quickly.

“I think it was, I really do.” Barry noticed her blush, lingers on it just a moment to long before he has to turn away, even redder than he thought was possible.

The joots and jonverse quietly settle at his feet, but they don’t mention it. Instead, they sit in flustered silence, until it finally fades into a comfortable one just as the sun crests over the water. The sky as full of warmth and love and life as both of their hearts.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on tumblr @ the-princeps to Yell or something if you're so inclined


End file.
